October 8, 2002. I've done it again, haven't I? Sigh. There's just no keeping up. We haven't been up to a whole lot lately, though. Stephen's having all kinds of fun with his train set, little cars, and the track that David got for him to play with. He is a total transportation boy. I think it's karma for all the times I looked at boys' clothes before he was born and declared the car/train/airplane themes to be mere gender stereotyping. Heh. Now I know better :)
The new favorite movie is "Monsters, Inc." which he absolutely adores, though he has developed a strange and lasting fascination with doors as a result, and will do his best to scare us with his mighty roar on a daily basis. This has lead to the ever-popular game of "One, two, BOO!" wherein he hides, for a count of two (we're working on three) and then erupts. He can do that for hours. He still enjoys "Toy Story" but it's taken second place for the time being. To my mixed horror and delight, he can also identify Frodo (Fodo) and Gandalf (Gannav) from "The Fellowship of the Ring," and will occasionally ask for the ring from the bookmarks that I put on a chain for him, which he likes to wear that from time to time.
Keeping with the transportation theme, he loves riding all manner of cars, trains, buses, and, of course, the T in Boston. We went to Boston a couple of weeks ago with David's parents, and riding the T was definitely the highlight of the trip for him. As soon as we'd step into the terminals, he'd start chanting, "Ride T? Ride T!" and was very sad whenever we'd get off. We bought him the T-shirt in the smallest size they had, and even though he swims in it, he still demands to wear it. I take him on the bus to UNH or Portsmouth at least once a week, and frequently ride to the train station so he can watch the trains come and go. We actually took the train from Dover to Durham last month -- the ride is all of 9 minutes by train, but he loved it so much that I am thinking about a train ride up to Maine or down to Boston sometime soon.
He likes to play at the park, too, and last time we were there, he had attracted a small following of little girls. One pair he was particularly attached to started to walk home, and, without even a look back to his father and me, he trotted after them, to make sure they stayed and played with him some more. Little girls absolutely adore this child :) He also made friends with another boy his age, who made a game of his exhortations to "Touch!" -- it's Stephen's way of saying don't touch, but this little boy didn't know that, so they had a great time chasing each other after a while.
Other likes: watching trucks and buses from the window or the sidewalk; playing with the trains at the library (and at home); riding the elevator at the library (actually, we take the elevator from the basement floor up to floor 1, the stairs from floor 1 to floor 2, and the elevator from 2 to 1 -- repeat ad nauseum); hiding and seeking; riding in the car; visiting Best Buy (Bus boy) and other stores; playing with Daddy while Mommy is in orchestra; riding his Radio Flyer "trike"; visiting with Auntie Robyn (Au-tie) and Uncles Brian (Byn) and Eryk (E-ik); seeing kitties (Cat), doggies, horses (hossies), goats, cows, and other quadripeds, as well as fishies; counting to two; reading Maisy books (oh, how he loves Maisy... especially the pop-up books, which are slowly getting shredded); getting underfoot; running away in stores; sometimes, being on the "leash" (sling around his waist) in stores. Of foods, he is still very picky, but enjoys: peas from Gamma's garden; frozen peas; apples; corn-on-the-cob; pasta; cookies; soy-based pretzels and pretty much every other snack from Trader Joe's; and a few tiny bites of anything I have lovingly prepared for him, before saying, "Done!"
Dislikes: having to hold hands when crossing the street and in parking lots; leaving anywhere that's fun... well, that pretty much covers it. He's usually a very happy boy, though his toddler stubbornness is showing a lot more lately. He's getting the concept of ownership, and if he wants something that someone else is holding, he'll come over and say very sternly, "Touch!" On the other hand, he knows that some things are Mommy's or Daddy's, and leaves them alone accordingly, which is nice.
Think that's about it for now. Hugs and kisses (yep, big, wet, Stephen kisses) to all, and enjoy the new pictures!
Previous Stephen updates: August 2002, May 2002; April 2002; March 2002; February 2002; November 2001.